


The One Where T'Challa is Shuri's Weakness

by JinxQuickfoot



Series: Weaknesses [17]
Category: Black Panther (2018), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Awesome Shuri (Marvel), BAMF Shuri (Marvel), Black Panther - Freeform, Genius Shuri (Marvel), Kidnapping, Peter Parker & Shuri Friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:40:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23508535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JinxQuickfoot/pseuds/JinxQuickfoot
Summary: They were sent in an encrypted email which even Shuri hadn’t been able to to trace back to its source, with a simple and bone-chilling message: The black panther suit for his life. Await further instructions. Tell no one.----------------------------------------------------------------------------T'Challa has been kidnapped, and the only one who knows is Shuri. That is, until an intern on exchange from Stark Industries gets involved.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Shuri, Shuri & T'Challa (Marvel)
Series: Weaknesses [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1672462
Comments: 11
Kudos: 95
Collections: Weaknesses





	The One Where T'Challa is Shuri's Weakness

**Author's Note:**

> Day 17 of the "Weaknesses" writing challenge
> 
> [Come say hi on Tumblr - I take requests!](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/jinxquickfoot)

Shuri had prepared her whole life for being kidnapped.

She had had self-defence classes with Okoye, was never sent far from the palace without a Dora Milaje, and always had at least three tiny, undetectable trackers on her person at any time. And now Wakanda had opened itself up to the world, those safety precautions had tripled.

In the event of an actual kidnapping, Shuri had been trained what to do. Keep her head down, do as they say, and activate a tracker when she could. She could break out of a pair of a handcuffs in under five seconds, she knew the codes to send in proof of life videos, and how to disarm a man three times her size.

So yes, Shuri was throughly prepared for being kidnapped. What she not prepared for, what no amount of training could have prepared her for, were the photos of her brother, chained to the wall of a cell, beaten and bloody and unconscious.

They were sent in an encrypted email which even Shuri hadn’t been able to to trace back to its source, with a simple and bone-chilling message:

**_The black panther suit for his life. Await further instructions. Tell no one._ **

The first thing Shuri had done was check if the photos were doctored or faked, her panic rising as her findings proved them to be very real. There was an odd shine in one corner - almost like a cigarette burn on an old movie - that she couldn’t explain, but everything else in the pictures appeared to be genuine.

The timing was no a coincidence. T’Challa had left three days ago for a week-long mediation practice in a location that no one - not even Shuri - had been allowed to know. It was a process the Blank Panther was expected to undertake each year and was not to be interrupted by anyone, for any reason. Which meant T’Challa could be missing another four days before anyone but Shuri would know something was wrong.

There was a gentle tap at the lab’s door. “Shuri?”

Shuri jumped so violently that she knocked several pieces of expensive equipment to the ground.

Peter Parker was across the room before she could stop him, scooping up spare parts and arranging them haphazardly back on her work station. “Sorry! Let me get those.”

Shuri had immediately liked Peter - once he had stopped going pink in her presence and stammering out “Princess” or “Your Highness,” sometimes accompanied by an awkward bow.

After Wakanda had revealed it’s technology to the wider world, Tony Stark had asked if his intern could spend some time there, learning what he could from them. Shuri had been dubious at first. While she knew that her brother had been on Stark’s side during the battle over the Accords, she has suspicions of Stark Industries suddenly being interested in Wakandan technology.

But the moment she met Peter, all thoughts of him being some kind of corporate spy went out the window. Unless Peter was an impossibly good actor, Shuri couldn’t imagine the dorky teenager stealing so much as an extra mint from a restaurant let alone her work. Instead, he showed a general fascination and enthusiasm for everything she showed him, and Shuri was pleasantly surprised that Peter could keep up.

Maybe she shouldn’t have been that surprised - he was working under Tony Stark, after all. Shuri had initially thought that being an intern at Stark Industries meant sorting files and getting coffee in exchange for a fancy reference on his resume, but the way Peter spoke implied he spent a lot of one-on-one time with Stark himself. Peter’s eyes lit up every time he said Stark’s name, with a warmth and affection that Shuri hadn’t been expecting either.

Not that Peter was particularly forthcoming about how he got this internship or why Stark was taking so much interest in mentoring him. Shuri had her suspicions why, but she kept them to herself.

“Are you ok?” Peter’s voice was filled with concern, and Shuri remembered she had been crying as she had tried to trace the photos of her brother.

She hastily wiped her eyes. “Allergies.”

“Ok…” Peter clearly didn’t believe her, but was too polite to call her out. “Can I help with anything else? I some more ideas for that holo-car thing you have? Which is like, ridiculously cool by the way.”

“You’ve mentioned that,” Shuri teased him. “About ten times. Since lunch.”

“It _is_ ridiculously cool,” Peter insisted. “Are you working on something right now?”

_Trying to figure out how to save my brother’s life._ “I was about to go to bed, actually.”

“It’s 9 pm.”

“Yeah…I’m tired.”

“Ok.” Shuri tried not to wince at the poorly concealed hurt in Peter’s voice at the brush-off. “I’ll…I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah. We talk more about that microscopic camera you’re designing.”

“Sure…” With an uneasy smile, Peter let himself out of the lab.

Shuri breathed out as she re-opened the email, enlarging it on her holo-screens. There had to be something there. Some way to trace it she hadn’t tried yet. Some clue in the photos she hadn’t yet seen.

“Shuri? Sorry I just wanted to check -”

Shuri shrieked and closed the email, but it was too late. From the expression on Peter’s face, she could tell he had seen. Those huge brown eyes stared at her in shock and worry. “Shuri?”

“You can’t tell anyone,” Shuri said hastily, crossing the room and tugging Peter inside before she locked the door behind him. “Not Stark, not anyone. They said they’d-”

Her voice broke and Peter was moving instinctually, pulling Shuri into a hug as she broke down into his shoulder. He rubbed her back in soothing motions until she untangled herself from him, pushing him away to find a tissue. Peter found one first, pushing the whole box into her hands.

“Thanks,” Shuri said, then blew her nose loudly. The absurd noise felt so out of place that she laughed. “Gross. Sorry.”

“It’s not gross. When…when did this happen?”

“A couple of hours ago. I’ve been going through all the photos, trying to see if they’re doctored or faked but they’re not.”  


“Can I see? Not that I think I’m better than you at any of this stuff,” Peter added quickly. “Just…sometimes a second pair of eyes can help, you know?”

Shuri gave him a light punch on the arm. “I know you’re not better than me at this stuff,” she teased him. “That’s why you’re an intern and I’m-”

“A sidekick?”

Shuri gave a mock gasp of offence and punched him again - harder this time. It actually hurt her knuckles a bit. “You call me a sidekick again and I’ll have you arrested.”

“You can’t do that!”

“I can! I’m a princess, remember?” She smiled to let him know she was joking, before returning to the more serious matter at hand.

“What’s that?” Peter asked, pointing to the cigarette burn-like mark on all the photos. “It looks like what they were talking about in that old movie, Fight Club?”

“I don’t know,” Shuri mused. “It’s weird though, isn’t it?” She looked over to see Peter contemplating something. “What are you thinking, Parker?”

“Shouldn’t…shouldn’t we tell someone?”

“The instructions said not to. I don’t want them to hurt him.” She hated how small and scared her voice sounded. She leaned on Peter’s shoulders, and he put his arm around her.

“I mean, now I know. I can help.”

“I don’t know…they kidnapped _T’Challa_ , Peter, they’re dangerous people. Dangerous, well-prepared people. And I know you work with Tony Stark but it’s not like that makes you an Avenger. This isn’t lab work. It’s…more than that. I don’t want to drag you into it.”

“I’m already dragged into it.”

“Not on purpose!”

Peter was quiet for a long time before he said, “I can help in more ways than just lab stuff.”

“Yeah? How?”

“I’ll show you. Just…just don’t freak out, ok?”

**Author's Note:**

> NOTE: This fic is currently on hiatus while I work on the [Whumptoberverse](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26438419)
> 
> So hey, I have this film and screenwriting podcast? It's called "Kill the Cat" and once a month my co-host and I and break down one of our favourite movies or tv shows and look at why they work, including Harry Potter, The Princess Bride, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and, of course, the MCU.
> 
> You can check it out on [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ypaen3yM5Q&t=1s&ab_channel=KilltheCatPodcast), [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/5hCprc9UCBZP4srFrBXKT1?si=ZOqdhMlVQvqV2fG5PxuvOA), or anywhere you listen to podcasts. 
> 
> And hey. You're doing great.


End file.
